Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer
Unless you're a celebrity, a CEO or a lottery winner, you probably wouldn't mind finding a job that pays more money. To help you wait for your big Hollywood break, we've put together 50 of the top jobs in America based on job growth projections and salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2008-2009 Occupational Outlook Handbook.
These jobs are growing as fast or faster than the national average for total employment and will offer many opportunities in the coming years.
Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer
Unless you're a celebrity, a CEO or a lottery winner, you probably wouldn't mind finding a job that pays more money. To help you wait for your big Hollywood break, we've put together 50 of the top jobs in America based on job growth projections and salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2008-2009 Occupational Outlook Handbook.
These jobs are growing as fast or faster than the national average for total employment and will offer many opportunities in the coming years.
1. Network systems and data communications analysts
Job Description: Ensure the quality of network systems at various stages, from their creation through their maintenance.
Average Salary:$64,600
2. Computer software engineers, applications
Job Description: Maintain and develop computer programs and software applications based on customer needs for businesses.
Average Salary: $79,780<
3. Personal financial advisers
Job Description: Work with clients to help them understand the state of their finances and the best course of action for them to take through investments and budgets.
Average Salary: $66,120
4. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance
Job Description: Help performers look the part of their roles with the right application of makeup.
Average Salary:$31,820
5. Veterinarians
Job Description: Provide health care for animals in all settings, whether they are a family pet or belong to the zoo.
Average Salary: $71,990
6. Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors
Job Description: Work with individuals to examine their history of abuse or addiction and educations them in preventative practices.
Average Salary: $34,040
7. Financial analysts
Job Description: Help their clients, both business and individuals, decide which investment opportunities are more appropriate for their needs.
Average Salary: $66,590
8. Child, family, and school social workers
Job Description: Ensure the health and well-being of children in home and school life by checking on the quality of life their families provide.
Average Salary: $37,480
9. Gaming surveillance officers and gaming investigators
Job Description: Serve as security to prevent cheating in casinos and to maintain the safety of both the patrons and the employees.
Average Salary: $27,130
10. Physical therapist assistants
Job Description: Help physical therapists administer various therapeutic exercises and activities and document the results.
Average Salary: $41,360
11. Forensic science technicians
Job Description: Use evidence they've collected from crime scenes and other locales in order to solve investigations.
Average Salary: $45,330
12. Dental hygienists
Perform some minor procedures and prepare patients for their consultation with a dentist.
Average Salary: $62,800
13. Mental health counselors
Job Description: Work with patients both one on one and in groups to help manage addiction, mood disorders and a variety of other health issues.
Average Salary: $34,380
14. Mental health and substance abuse social workers
Job Description: Help people with a history of substance abuse overcome and handle their addictions through various means, including therapy.
Average Salary: $35,410
15. Marriage and family therapists
Job Description: Help couples and families identify and overcome mental and emotional conflicts.
Average Salary: $43,210
16. Dental assistants
Job Description: Under the supervision of a dentist, carry out some clerical, lab and patient tasks.
Average Salary: $30,220
17. Computer systems analysts
Job Description: Learn about new technologies and decide which ones best suit an organization and how to integrate them.
Average Salary:$69,760
18. Database administrators
Job Description: Maintain computer databases with the use of software and also update databases as needed.
Average Salary: $64,670
19. Computer software engineers, systems software
Job Description: Manage a company's computer systems and can be involved from the planning stage through its daily maintenance.
Average Salary: $85,370
20. Gaming managers
Job Description: Oversee the daily activities of a casino.
Average Salary: $62,820
21. Environmental science and protection technicians, including health
Job Description: Work on site and in labs to analyze the causes, effects and preventative measures of air pollution.
Average Salary: $38,090
22. Physical therapists
Job Description: Help rehabilitate patients who have undergone medical procedures, suffered injuries or suffer from diseases.
Average Salary: $66,200
23. Physician assistants
Job Description: Report to physicians and surgeons. Perform some health-care duties and oversee technicians and other assistants.
Average Salary: $74,980
24. Registered nurses
Job Description: Assist patients at all stages of their medical visits, from gathering their medical histories to running tests and assisting with their rehabilitation.
Average Salary: $57,280
25. Customer service representatives
Job Description: Interact with customers, answering their questions and directing them to the right departments either in person, from a call center or even online.
Average Salary: $28,330
26. Police and sheriff's patrol officers
Job Description: Have general law enforcement duties, including maintaining regular patrols, responding to calls for service, directing traffic at accident scenes, investigating a burglary or giving first aid.
Average Salary: $47,460
27. Postsecondary teachers
Job Description: Include college and university faculty, postsecondary career and technical education teachers, and graduate teaching assistants, instruct students in a wide variety of academic and vocational subjects beyond the high school level.
Average Salary: $56,120
28. First-line supervisors and managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers
Job Description: Coordinate, schedule and supervise the activities of janitors and cleaners including assigning tasks, inspecting work, maintaining inventory, screening and hiring job applicants and training employees.
Average Salary: $31,290
29. Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks
Job Description: Handle financial recordkeeping for a department or entire company. Duties can include posting debits and credits, producing financial statements, preparing bank deposits, handling payroll, preparing invoices and keeping track of overdue accounts.
Average Salary: $30,560
30. Executive secretaries and administrative assistants
Job Description: Provide high-level support for an office and C-level executives, generally performing fewer clerical tasks and more information management such as arranging conference calls and meetings, preparing agendas and supervising other clerical staff.
Average Salary: $37,240
31. Accountants and auditors
Job Description: Prepare, analyze and verify financial documents, as well as offer budget analysis, financial and investment planning, typically in four major fields: public, management, government accounting and internal auditing.
Average Salary: $54,630
32. Elementary school teachers, except special education
Job Description: (Except special education) using classroom presentations or individual instruction to help students learn. They plan, evaluate, and assign lessons; prepare, administer, grade tests and report cards; and maintain classroom discipline.
Average Salary: $45,570
33. Paralegals and legal assistants
Job Description: Assist lawyers by preparing for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings, conducting case research, identifying appropriate laws, judicial decisions, legal articles and other materials that are relevant to assigned cases.
Average Salary: $43,040
34. Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer
Job Description: Deliver everything from automobiles to canned food. They are responsible for inspecting the vehicle before leaving the warehouse to make sure equipment is in working order, and must keep a log of their activities, as required by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Average Salary: $35,040
35. Carpenters
Job Description: Need between three and four years of both on-the-job training and classroom instruction and are involved in many different kinds of construction, from the building of highways and bridges to the installation of kitchen cabinets.
Average Salary: $36,550
36. Management analysts
Job Description: Also known as management consultants, analyze and propose ways to improve an organization's structure, efficiency or profits. Almost one-third of this occupation is self-employed.
Average Salary: $68,050
37. Maintenance and repair workers, general
Job Description: Work in almost every industry and have skills in many different crafts including: appliance repair, plumbing, electrical and heating and air-conditioning systems, make plaster or drywall repairs, and fix or paint parts of building structures.
Average Salary: $31,910
38. Public relations specialist
Job Description: Work in media, community, consumer, industry and governmental relations; political campaigns; interest-group representation; conflict mediation; and employee and investor relations.
Average Salary: $47,350
39. First-line supervisors/managers of landscaping, lawn service and groundskeeping workers
Job Description: Oversee grounds maintenance work, prepare cost estimates, schedule work for crews, carry out quality spot checks and train workers in their tasks and monitor performance.
Average Salary: $37,294
40. Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education
Job Description: Help students delve more deeply into specialized subjects introduced in elementary school and expose them to more information about the world.
Average Salary: $46,300
41. Pharmacists
Job Description: Must graduate from an accredited college of pharmacy and be licensed, distribute prescription drugs and counsel patients on selection, dosages, interactions and side effects of medications.
Average Salary: $94,520
42. Employment, recruitment and placement specialists
Job Description: Work with organization management to attract the most qualified employees and match them to jobs for which they are best suited.
Average Salary: $42,420
43. Radiologic technologists and technicians
Job Description: Also referred to as radiographers, take x rays for use in diagnosing medical problems and administer nonradioactive materials into patients' bloodstreams for diagnostic purposes. They work in hospitals, physicians' offices and diagnostic imaging centers.
Average Salary: $48,170
44. Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten and elementary school
Job Description: Work with children and youths who have a variety of special learning needs, from mental retardation or autism to mild to moderate disabilities.
Average Salary: $46,360
45. Training and development specialists
Job Description: Conduct and supervise training and development programs for employees as a way of developing skills, enhancing productivity and quality of work, building worker and increasing individual and organizational performance to achieve business results.
Average Salary: $47,830
46. Computer support specialists
Job Description: Includes technical support specialists and help-desk technicians, interpret problems, give advice and provide technical support for hardware, software and systems to customers and other users.
Average Salary: $41,470
47. Self-enrichment education teachers
Job Description: Are often self-employed or work part time and provide instruction in a wide variety of subjects that students take for fun or self-improvement in classroom, group and one-on-one instruction.
Average Salary: $33,440
48. Property, real estate and community association managers
Job Description: Oversee the performance of income-producing commercial or residential properties and opportunities are expected to be especially good for those with experience managing housing for older people or running a health unit.
Average Salary: $43,070
49. Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters
Job Description: Among the largest and highest paid construction occupations, maintain and repair many different types of pipe systems.
Average Salary: $42,770
50. Computer and information systems managers
Job Description: Plan, coordinate, and direct research and facilitate the computer-related activities of firms and may do everything from helping construct a business plan to overseeing network security to directing Internet operations.
Average Salary: $101,580
Next: Top 10 Companies Hiring This Week >>
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